The Seattle Mariners bring plenty of swagger and hot bats with them when they travel to battle the slumping Texas Rangers on Friday in the opener of a three-game American League West series in Arlington, Texas.
The Mariners will send right-hander Bryan Woo (3-1, 3.09 ERA) to the mound to start while Texas will oppose him with right-hander Jack Leiter (2-0, 2.03).
Seattle has won seven straight series and captured 15 of its past 20 games, the latest a 9-3 home victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday afternoon. J.P. Crawford’s two-run single broke a tie in Seattle’s six-run seventh inning, and Randy Arozarena homered as the division-leading Mariners won their fourth straight game.
“We are getting the contributions from everybody,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “A couple of guys down at the bottom (of the order) to kind of set the table, and things kind of took off from there. These guys continue to do all the little things, and it’s really fun to see.”
The second of the Mariners’ series win streak came over Texas in a sweep of a three-game set in Seattle in which they outscored the Rangers 17-6.
Thirty games into the season, Seattle is 9-3 against AL West opponents, with series victories over the Rangers, Astros and Angels.
Woo has been a big part of that, winning two of his past three starts. In his most recent outing, he allowed two runs on three hits over six innings as the Mariners beat Boston 4-3 on April 24. He struck out a season-high eight batters while allowing just one walk.
Woo has started five times against the Rangers, amassing a 1-2 record and a 6.95 ERA over 22 innings. He has surrendered 17 runs on 27 hits while striking out 26 and walking eight.
Texas could use some more of that success against Woo. The Rangers just dropped three of four games at home to the Athletics. In a 3-0 loss Thursday, the offensively challenged Rangers managed singles by Wyatt Langford, Marcus Semien and Jake Burger. Texas was held scoreless over the final 17 innings of the series.
After Texas racked up a season-high production in a 15-2 win on Tuesday in the only game it won in the series, the Rangers scored just three runs combined in the three other games.
“Frustration — it’s already been there,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said after the loss Thursday. “This was one of our worst games – we just didn’t swing the bats well. You always look flat when you don’t hit, and that’s how we looked today. We just have to get things going.
“The players hear the noise, and they are trying to come out of it. We are better than what we’ve shown, and we know that. There is that added pressure. We are playing to win here and sometimes the guys can overreact and be too passive, waiting for the perfect pitch. We just have to let that go.”
Leiter returned from the injured list for his most recent start. On April 27, he went 3 1/3 innings in a no-decision in San Francisco in a game the Rangers lost 3-2 after committing two ninth-inning throwing errors. Leiter allowed two runs on two hits and four walks in the game, while striking out three.
Leiter is 0-1 with an 8.00 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against Seattle. He has allowed nine runs (eight earned) in nine innings while striking out 11 and walking four.
–Field Level Media
